Royal Ballet: Serenade/Sweet Violets/DGV: Danse a Grande Vitesse

A triple bill from the Royal Ballet. The run features George Balanchine's 'Serenade', set to Tchaikovsky's 'Serenade for Strings' the first ballet Balanchine made after moving to the US. The plotless piece refers to greats such as 'Swan Lake' and 'Giselle' and evokes an atmosphere of a romantic mystery. Based on Walter Sickert's obsession with Jack the Ripper, which inspired the 'Camden Town Murder' paintings, Liam Scarlett's narrative ballet 'Sweet Violets' also features on the bill and looks at obsession, violence and artistic creativity. Christopher Wheeldon completes the trio with his popular 'DGV: Danse a grande vitesse', which is set to a composition by Michael Nyman and has 26 dancers performing in varying emotional landscapes.